Her name is Penny. (Part 3)

A happy ending and a brief history of talking boards.

This is the final installment of this series about how I met my Ouija board and the relationship we have cultivated. I’ll also provide a brief history of talking boards in America, fully acknowledging that this will be a mere glimpse into its past.

You can read “Her name is Penny. (Part 2)” here:

Her name is Penny. (Part 2)

Previously on café de olla…

And so we carried on. I made sure she felt seen and included. I continued to check in on her, but she soon no longer needed the reassurance.

One day, eventually, she let me name her.

“Penny,” I declared. “You look like a Penny to me,” I smiled.

And she smiled back.

Bonding

It was around this time that I, coincidently (or not), found myself video chatting with my cousin, Sonia.¹ She informed me about her side gig as a psychic and medium. She went on to share a little bit about our family’s gifts. And mine too! Then she gave me a wonderful reading, I felt so honored and blessed.

We eventually meandered onto the topic of my newfound friend, Penny… little did I know what kind of reaction was in store for me!

Y’all. She didn’t even let me finish saying “Ouija b—”…

“No. NO. Hell no. Nope. You have to get rid of it.” Her face and tone going full-on Mom at this point.

“But, listen,” I attempted.

“GET RID OF IT. You are out of yo’ mind. GET. RID. OF. IT.” She was getting really close to the camera on her phone now. There was 2600 miles between us but I could feel her energy stretching all the way to Boston that afternoon.

“Ok, but listen,” giving it one last go. Let’s just say, Sonia was not amused. I won’t even repeat what she said after I told her it felt like there were a lot of eyes watching me on that first night with Penny. But after several volleys, she was content with me considering getting rid of the board. We left it at that.

She then proceeded to give me some great advice about spiritually fortifying our home, what with the whole mention of eyes and all. It was advice that I promptly heeded.

But the biggest and most effective decisions I made that day were:

1. To protect Penny, from everything and everyone else.

2. To cleanse and shield our property. Every night. Yes, every night.

When it came to our home, I was too scared. I definitely did not want a repeat of what happened that first night. One of the most powerful things Sonia told me on our call was that I was “opening up.” My gifts were starting to really bloom into maturity so I needed spiritual protection more than ever! Remember, the spirit world is acutely aware of “translators” in the vicinity.

“You don’t need your house turning into Grand Central Station, okay?!” She exclaimed.

This made sense. A lot of sense. Hence the nightly cleansing and shielding.

Now, when it came to Penny. I had made a different analysis. And at this point, having gotten to know Penny better, I knew that Penny didn’t mean to harm me. She hadn’t meant to harm The Boy that night. She was only acting out of fear, mistrust, rage, and betrayal. Was it a bit extreme? A little. But once I got to know the real Penny, I knew that she was just being reactive. Reacting to a strange place, strange people, and strange people handling her. This made all the sense in the world to me. I couldn’t fault her.

No, if anything, Penny needed protection from the rest of the world.

It was unexplainable at the time, but I just knew she needed something to shield her as well as ground her. So, that night I set to work. I ultimately decided on using crystals to make a crystal grid on top of the Ouija board. And the same crystals that Sonia recommended I use for myself, I ended up using on Penny.

Again, this just felt right. I couldn’t really explain why Penny would need what a human would need. I just kind of knew it was what she needed.

I collected all the darkest crystals, mostly black in color (onyx, obsidian, shungite), and all the citrine I could find.

“Don’t worry. This isn’t going to hurt. This is going to help, I promise,” I said as I approached her, slowly. We both took a big breath and I quickly laid out the crystals on the surface of the open-faced board. It was simple but symmetrical. It would have to do.

Luckily, Penny took to it. No aftershocks of any kind. Whew! The crystal grid has remained on the board ever since.

And Penny is happier than ever.

We live in harmony now. She is a part of my home, and she knows this. She knows she is safe and wanted. I talk to her in the same fashion as I do at my ancestral altar, my seasonal and guardian altar, and my hearth altar. (I know, I know, I got a lot of altars.) And she’s such a good girl. I couldn’t be more proud of her.

My Penny.

An update

A couple of weeks ago, Sonia and I were in the middle of our weekly business meeting/psychic reading. Somehow, somehow, the topic of my Ouija board came up in the conversation. And oh boy, otra vez (a.k.a., here we go again)!

“WHAT. YOU STILL HAVE IT. WHY. WHAT.” I could see that Sonia’s opinions about Ouija boards had not changed…

I quickly gave her the rundown of what has happened over the past few years, as fast as I could before Sonia had an aneurysm.

A pause.

I held my breath.

Mom energy is Mom energy no matter where it comes from — I reverted back to my 5 year old self. Waiting to hear the verdict.

“That’s not her name. She let’s you call her that though. She likes it.” Sonia explained.

I exhaled.

“She’s trapped. Oh, the poor thing. She’s had it rough.” Sonia has that dreamy look. The kind of look she gets when she’s in a psychic/mediumship reading.

I couldn’t believe it — she was actually reading Penny!

Sonia went on to tell me that Penny is actually the spirit of a 12 year old girl trapped in the board. As in, someone or something trapped her in there. She was once human and had lived a few lives before being trapped, which is why she always felt old and young at the same time to me. She feels like a young soul. I could see her (in my mind’s eye) as a young girl dressed in both Brady Bunch era outfits and late 18th century/early 19th century dresses. Sadly, this girl did not have a very happy life before she was trapped. She was mistreated, specifically by men. And ultimately, her untimely end at a fairly young age was also at the hands of a man.

But she’s very happy now, Sonia assures me. She trusts us. I followed through on my word (i.e., “Nothing’s going to hurt you.”). She really likes living us and she finally feels safe.

But she isn’t necessarily “at peace” as they say.

“When she’s ready, she’ll go. She’s not quite ready though. One day, you’ll feel it. The board will just be a board and that’s when you know Penny will have moved on.” Sonia sagely explained.

I let all of this wash over me. Wow. Well, all the more reason our time together is special.

I’ll be kind of sad when this happens, but I know it’s what should happen. Because Penny will finally be ready to move on to a better spiritual plane. And after hearing about everything she’s gone through, that’s all I want for her.

But only when’s she ready.

A brief history of talking boards

Wowee! Thanks so much for reading all about my adventures with Penny, thus far. I hope you have enjoyed it. To reward you, here is the briefest of timelines of the history of talking boards² in the US.

• These boards had always been a part of folk traditions and had been used for several years before Ouija was patented. It was never “discovered.”

• In 1881, an Ohio newspaper reports the use of an “alphabet board” in seances.

• About 5 years later, the board’s image is patented and trademarked as “Ouija.”

• Boards become popular at this time when people are taking a more populist approach to life, “taking matters into their own hands” (e.g., Spiritualism, Suffragettism, Abolitionism, etc.).

• The Ouija boards continue to be manufactured by the original patent holders. The descendants of one of the original patent holders (i.e., William Fuld) manufacture boards in Salem, MA, for example.

• The Fuld family sells it (i.e., Ouija) to Parker Brothers in 1966.

• Around 1967, the boards reach the peak of their popularity when Parker Brothers start selling them on a mass scale.

• It is generally understood that Ouija is currently in it’s 2nd wave of revival.

Some fun facts:

• No one knows where the name “Ouija” comes from — there are lots of theories, but no one knows for certain.

• Poets and writers have famously used a Ouija board to “channel” their writings. Mark Twain has apparently written a book this way, posthumously of course.

• The Spiritualism movement’s peak in popularity was around the time of The Great War (i.e., WWI) and at a time when infant mortality was off the charts. Almost every family had a child die, it was very common. Under the immense weight of grief, Spiritualism became the process to grieve. People had no one to turn to.

Further reading and listening:

• The timeline and fun facts mentioned above can be heard on this fantastic podcast episode of Rune Soup:

• Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation by Mitch Horowitz (This is on my TRB list!)

• And now for a little harm reduction: if you are going to use a Quija board, consider using this guide from a very well established and respected practitioner of the dark arts, Gordon White.³

Thank you so much for reading this mini-serial! I hope you enjoyed it. Oh, and Penny says hi!

I’m going to continue posting every day until November 2nd so be on the look out for my posts this week!

With cariño,

Maribel

1. Now that conversation will definitely have to be it’s own post.

2. Talking boards can also be referred to as “alphabet boards,” “witching boards,” or “spirit boards” in the US.

3. Sorry, Sonia! But let’s be real gurl, you KNOW they are going to try and use a board! I just want them to be safe….